Mulcair gathers provincial NDP leaders

Peter O'Neil, Vancouver Sun01.16.2013

Thomas Mulcair is shown in Montreal on November 4, 2012. New Democrat leaders from across the country, including the premiers of Manitoba and Nova Scotia, were in Ottawa on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013 for talks hosted by federal NDP Leader Mulcair.

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Federal New Democratic Party leader Tom Mulcair on Tuesday brought together the party's provincial leaders, including two premiers and B.C.'s front-running Adrian Dix, in a bid to show Canadians the federal party can be trusted to govern.

Mulcair has been taking a number of steps to confront the Harper government's portrayal of the official Opposition as an irresponsible tax-and-spend party.

Mulcair's measures include supporting the Canada-Jordan free trade agreement, keeping his MPs away from the 2012 Quebec student protests and the Quebec election, and refusing to visit protesting Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence even though other NDP MPs, and presumed Liberal frontrunner Justin Trudeau, have paraded to Spence's teepee near Parliament Hill.

And after a pro-labour movement speech to the B.C. Federation of Labour in November, Mulcair has stressed that he doesn't put unions ahead of the public interest and also meets with banks, oil companies, and other economic and social groups.

Mulcair has also focused on economic issues during question period.

Dix has likewise made great efforts to ease concerns in the B.C. business community, and on Tuesday rang the opening bell in Toronto to mark the return of financially restructured Catalyst Paper to the TSX.

"The NDP is very proud of its track record of prudent public administration in the five provinces and in the territory (Yukon) where it has been in power," Mulcair told reporters in Ottawa.

The federal party has released figures showing that since 1980 provincial NDP governing parties have had the best track record of any Canadian party in balancing budgets.

The party's performance has been boosted by the impressive records of fiscally prudent NDP administrations in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

The performance of the B.C. and Ontario provincial governments, however, dragged down the party's record, with the B.C. New Democrat government recording just one surplus during the 1991-2001 period it governed, and the Ontario NDP having none during its five-year term that ended in 1995.

Dix, the one-time senior aide to former B.C. Premier Glen Clark, defended the NDP's fiscal record during that decade in power.

"Remember, we inherited in B.C. the largest deficit in history from the Social Credit party - 2.8 per cent of (gross domestic product) - and we left the Liberal government with a balanced budget," Dix told The Vancouver Sun before the NDP leaders' "summit" on Tuesday.

"I think, though, what people are interested in is what we're going to do now, and that's what I'm focused on."

The several hours of meetings on Tuesday - which included sessions on the economy, natural resources, and federal-provincial relations - included the participation of Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger and Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter.

Dix said his top federal-provincial issue is aboriginal affairs, and said the federal government has to make tangible moves to accelerate the treaty process in B.C. and meet other First Nation demands.

"If we were to win the election, the first meeting I would have with the prime minister is talking about our two governments' joint responsibility in moving some of these issues forward," said Dix, who according to polls is the favourite to replace Liberal Premier Christy Clark in the May election.

A Radio-Canada reporter has been arrested for alleged criminal harassment while pursuing the subject of a story. According to Radio-Canada, reporter Antoine Trépanier was arrested Tuesday night by Gatineau police. He was released on a promise to appear in court. Trépanier was called by Gatineau police Tuesday evening and an officer requested that he come […]

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